What does it mean that God gives us the desires of our hearts? Is prayer like having a blank check with God? Should we expect God to give us anything we want when we ask in prayer? How should we interpret passages like the ones we’ll read today? Are there some simple principles we should know and understand that can help us?

Today’s Readings:

2 Chronicles 1 & 2
Psalm 79.1-4
Proverbs 20.8-9
Acts 11.1-30

Prayer, Bible Interpretation & Blank Checks with God

2 Chronicles 1 & 2:

Ask What You Will

2 Chronicles begins with the reign of Solomon. One of his first orders of business was to build the temple that his father David wanted to build.

But before he did, God appeared to him and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

Wow! Can you imagine? It sounds like he was given a blank check by God.

But Solomon didn’t ask for wealth or power. He prayed for wisdom that God gave him in abundance, to say the least! People came from far and wide to see and hear it for themselves. And because his prayer was for something pleasing to God, He blessed him with riches and honor, as well.

So, how do we apply passages like this one to our own lives?

Applying Old Testament Narrative

How are we to interpret and apply the Bible correctly in our lives, especially Old Testament narratives like this one? Are we to believe that God offers each of us a blank check in prayer? What about other narratives like 1 Samuel 17 where David defeats Goliath? Is it about defeating the giants in our lives? And consider passages about Jonah and Sampson, Gideon and Noah. The typical Sunday school versions of those stories make David, Jonah, Sampson, Gideon, and Noah the heroes and challenge us to be like them or apply God’s promises to us. I’m not saying those applications are all wrong but we need to be very careful as we consider them. With that in mind, let’s look at some principles for interpreting Scripture.

Principles for Interpreting Scripture

First, Scripture must be interpreted in its proper context. Don’t isolate verses from the entire passage. Read it in context. Ask questions. Who wrote it? When was it written? To whom was it written and for what reason, etc.? 

Remember the principle of senses literalis. While familiar with the principle itself, the term was new to me. Dr. R.C. Sproul explains it this way:

The second principle that governs an objective interpretation of Scripture is called the sensus literalis. Many times people have said to me, incredulously, “You don’t interpret the Bible literally, do you?” I never answer the question by saying, “Yes,” nor do I ever answer the question by saying, “No.” I always answer the question by saying, “Of course, what other way is there to interpret the Bible?” What is meant by sensus literalis is not that every text in the Scriptures is given a “woodenly literal” interpretation, but rather that we must interpret the Bible in the sense in which it is written. Parables are interpreted as parables, symbols as symbols, poetry as poetry, didactic literature as didactic literature, historical narrative as historical narrative, occasional letters as occasional letters. That principle of literal interpretation is the same principle we use to interpret any written source responsibly (from the Ligonier website in a post entitled Practical Principles of Biblical Interpretation).

Also, Scripture should be interpreted in light of other Scripture. When we understand that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it follows that Scripture will never contradict itself. If a verse or passage seems to contradict itself, we may need to dig deeper and study other passages on the same subject. Passages that are unclear should be interpreted in light of others that are, never the other way around.

Use ordinary rules of language as you read the Bible. Verbs are still verbs and nouns are nouns. Think about any pronouns. To whom do they refer? Who is speaking, etc.?

Consider the original audience. Though we may use different language to describe the issue, we should not superimpose a meaning that would have been foreign to the original hearers. There are other principles but these are some of the most important.

If you would like to learn more about this subject, you might want to read one of the following:

“10 Principles for Effective Bible Study”

Practical Principles of Biblical Interpretation

How do we know what parts of the Bible apply to us today?

A Blank Check with God?

So, back to the original question about the application to our lives of God’s interaction with Solomon in 2 Chronicles 1. First, did Solomon really have a blank check with God? What if his prayer request had contradicted God’s will? Would God still have given him his request? 

And second, we need to remember that Solomon was in the line of the future Messiah. God had a plan to redeem fallen man and He was faithfully bringing that plan to pass. Many of the events throughout Old Testament history involved God orchestrating events to that end.

But what about us? Do we have a promise close to what God offered Solomon? In a way, we do. John 14 says:

¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

But is that really a blank check? Some would say it is and back it up with Psalm 37.4 where God said He would give us the desires of our hearts. But let’s read those verses in light of another one in John 15.7:

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

And to get a little more insight, I’d like to share a quote from one of the posts I listed above, How do we know what parts of the Bible apply to us today?

Another common example of interpreting with disregard of the context is John 14:13-14. Reading this verse out of context would seem to indicate that if we ask God anything (unqualified), we will receive it as long as we use the formula “in Jesus’ name.” Applying the rules of proper hermeneutics to this passage, we see Jesus speaking to His disciples in the upper room on the night of His eventual betrayal. The immediate audience is the disciples. This is essentially a promise to His disciples that God will provide the necessary resources for them to complete their task. It is a passage of comfort because Jesus would soon be leaving them. Is there an application for 21st-century Christians? Of course! If we pray in Jesus’ name, we pray according to God’s will and God will give us what we need to accomplish His will in and through us. Furthermore, the response we get will always glorify God. Far from a “carte blanche” way of getting what we want, this passage teaches us that we must always submit to God’s will in prayer, and that God will always provide what we need to accomplish His will.

Are You Abiding in Him?

So one question we should ask ourselves is, “Are we abiding (Jn. 15.7) and delighting (Ps. 37.4) in Him so that our hearts and desires are in line with His purposes?” God does always answer prayer but sometimes He says “yes,” sometimes “no,” sometimes “wait,” and sometimes “I have a better idea.” The promise to “have what you desire” is conditional on us allowing Him to put His righteous desires in our hearts. Even then, He may not always answer when and how we want Him to because He sees the big picture and we don’t. Isaiah 55.8-9:

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

So, let’s abide in Him, cultivate His desires, pray for His wisdom, and trust Him as we faithfully go to Him in prayer.

Today’s Other Readings:

Psalm 79.1-4:

What Goes Around Comes Around

Sometimes God steps back and lets those He loves suffer the consequences of choosing to go their own way. Maybe you know people who are suffering the consequences of their sinful choices.

When it’s someone who has sinned against us, it’s tempting to think “what-goes-around-comes-around,” but we are to guard against that attitude. We are not to rejoice in unrighteousness, but to rejoice when the truth of God prevails (1 Cor. 13.6). And in cases, where we think there should be consequences and there aren’t, we must trust in God’s timing and His perfect judgment (Rom. 12.17-21).

On the other hand, when the person suffering is someone we love like a child, a friend, or a sibling, even ourselves, it’s tempting to wonder where God is and why He hasn’t stopped it. We may even try to intervene in some unwise or unhelpful way.

As believers, we need to remember that God disciplines those he loves (Heb. 12.6) and with believers and unbelievers alike to remember that He uses consequences to bring us to the end of ourselves so we see our need for Him (Lk. 15.11-24).

Of course, not all suffering is because of sin. It’s part of life in a fallen world. But whatever God allows in our lives, He allows for our good and His glory (Jn. 9.1-3; Rom. 8.28-29).

Proverbs 20.8-9:

Who Can Say …

Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin’ (v. 9)?

Or as Paul put it in Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “There is not one righteous, no not one!” Any goodness in us is Him!

For those who have never embraced the gospel, there is no plan B. We can never be good enough. It’s only by confessing and repenting of our sin and receiving His forgiveness that any of us can enter the kingdom of heaven. But when we do, we get to exchange our sin for Christ’s righteousness and one day spend eternity with Him.

Acts 11.1-30:

Baptized with the Spirit

Peter had been ministering to Gentiles and had seen many of them come to faith and be filled with the Spirit. When the Jewish Christians heard about it, they were shocked. Here in Acts 11, he returns to Jerusalem to report on what has been happening:

¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁷ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?

¹⁸ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

We, too, were all “baptized into Christ” and filled with His Spirit when we were saved (Rom. 6.3; Gal. 3.27). But we are also commanded to be “filled with the Spirit” on a continual basis (Eph. 5.18). To be “filled with the Spirit” continually is to let the Word of Christ richly dwell within us (Col. 3.16), so much so, that it produces a walk of obedience and spills out on those around us.

What about you? Questions to ponder or journal:

What are you doing to be filled with the Spirit? How do you let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you?

What do your prayers look like? Are you abiding in Christ and His Word so that He can put His righteous desires in your heart?

Are you ever tempted to have a “what-goes-around-comes-around” attitude when you see someone suffering the consequences of their own actions? How does your attitude need to change?

Consider writing out a prayer of commitment in any area where you need to grow and change.

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we’ll talk about the importance of godly friends, parenting, and praying for our nation.

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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.